Portal 3
by PRT WolfShield
Summary: Chell has mixed feelings leaving the Enrichment Center, wondering what she is going to do with herself now.  When an old face returns from space, Chell is shoved into a new adventure, one that's not too far from home.
1. Everytime I Think I'm Out

Hello, and welcome to my first story on FF. This is my attempt to continue the story of Portal, not that Valve can count to three. So please enjoy, and let me know what you think!

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><p>As Chell began to walk away from the shed, pushing the Companion Cube with her bootless feet, she was dealing with a mix of emotions. GLaDOS had let her go, she was free. But something was not right, had GLaDOS really changed? Deleting Caroline proved otherwise. And without boots or a portal gun, Chell felt something she never felt in the Enrichment Center. She felt defenseless. There was no sign of civilization for miles. Where would she go? What would she eat? There was always one can of beans left by the character she lovingly referred to as the Rat Man. She even snacked on a few potatoes that had grown throughout the facility. But out here, Chell was truly alone. At least she had her Companion Cube. Chell knew it was silly, but there was something comforting about that cube. For all she knew, it could be emitting some kind of drug or mind control, there was literally nothing Cave Johnson wouldn't experiment on. While Chell was pondering all this, she suddenly saw a meteor falling from the sky. It had been a while since she had seen any natural phenomenon and stared at it in awe. Until she realized it was heading straight for her. With a quick jump backwards Chell avoided being impaled by the object from space. With horror she realized she jumped without her cube, and looking at the crater it was obvious the cube was nothing more than bits and pieces. "Ugnh, not exactly a gentle landing, but ol' Rick's been through worse." Chell was shocked to hear that voice again. Could it really be that hot headed adventure core? She ran to see, maybe he brought back Wheatley for revenge. No, it was just him, and he looked badly damaged from the fall. "Hey, pretty lady. Looks like my ol' compass still works. How's it been since we last fought together." Chell looked puzzled, this core still wants to be on her side, or at the very least, on her in some fashion. "Well I know you never spoke in the facility, I managed to do some speed reading while attached to that blue idiot. But come on, you can trust Rick, right?" It's true, Chell had never spoke a word at the Enrichment Center, why give GLaDOS more fuel for her fire. But even now, she feared, she still had some sort of brain damage. Every thought to speak made her jump up and down. "Boy that must really not be an act, you really are mute, aren't you?" Chell shrugged, any number of things could be wrong with her. She had survived neurotoxin, repulsion gel, fire pits, turrets, and of course the Wheatley Death Pit. "Well we need some way of communicating, I've got plans for us, and it'll be what we need to survive out here in the wild." Chell began to look for some way to communicating with the little core, seeing nothing but weeds and wheat. That's when she got the idea to take a few strands of wheat and spell out her thoughts. Rick went on to read her messages, "I don't know why I am mute, everything has been fuzzy in that science hell. Yeah no kidding. You are one tough cookie little lady. Let's see, What is your plan? Oh that's simple enough. I need to get back inside the Enrichment Center." Chell's eyes grew like saucers. She began shaking her head violently, NO! "Now hold on, hold on! I know that can't be what you wanted to hear, but listen. You have no portal gun or boots, you can't survive out here without some sort of edge. And I'm pretty banged up, I need to get the ATLAS upgrade." Chell looked puzzled, ATLAS upgrade? "You know, there was that core inside a robotic body. If I had that, I'd have my own portal gun, and could explore where ever I pleased." Chell looked hard at the little sphere, he did look badly damaged. But so did Wheatley, how could she trust another core? And GLaDOS would not let Chell leave again, she never wanted her back anyway. "Look Chell. I know this is hard, but it'll be the best for both of us. And you know me, I'm programmed to be the hero, I can't betray you in anyway. If nothing else, look at it this way, you'll be helping someone else escape the cruel intentions of that place." Chell couldn't argue with that, no amount of wheat would make a good argument. "So what do you say, partners?" Chell just had one question left, "How do we get in, and how do we get out? Getting out will be easy, it's getting in without her detecting us that'll be the problem. I've made a few upgrades to link and hack her system, but I have no idea where the entrance is, none of the pictures I looked at showed wheat." Chell looked frustrated, pulling out more wheat. "So then what do we do? Easy, you pick me up, I'll hold together until we get your stuff back. I'll let out soft beeps when we get close to a door. Hopefully we won't have to comb this entire field." With a sick pit in her stomach, Chell picked the sphere up, and began to search for a way back into the facility.<p>

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><p>Yes I know, I destroyed the companion cube, but we all knew Chell was going to lose it one way or another, right?<p> 


	2. The Road to Nowhere

"Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. God this bleeping beeping is going to drive me insane. We better be coming up on some kind of exit soon." Chell hated to agree with the little robot, but he was right. They had been searching for hours, with nothing but wheat around them, and that beeping! Even the cold embrace of GlaDOS pinchers would have been more inviting than this. There had to be some kind of entrance back into the facility, where it was hiding was the main problem right now. "Beep. Beep Beep. Hey, two beeps! We must be getting close to the entrance!" Chell started to run, quickening her pace. She needed to find the Enrichment Center NOW, she was starving and would eat anything. Even if it was another can of beans. The more Chell ran, the more the beeps got louder and closer together. Finally, the adventure sphere let out a loud BEEEEEEEEEEPP! "Well, here we are." Chell looked around in confusion, there was asphalt where she stood, but the paved road might as well have been the dense wheat field blocking the way. There was nothing there, not even a wall where a portal could be placed. Chell brought the little sphere up to her face and looked at him like, so where is it? "Well, don't you think you should get busy, pretty lady?" Get busy? Doing what, there was nothing for miles! "Come on, this is the building in the entire Enrichment Center that's closest to the surface. Start digging, I'll be busy thinking up good catchphrases we can use when I have my new robotic body." Chell's face puckered into a gaze of pure rage. She shook the core back and forth, screaming in her head, you idiot! I can't dig my way in! "Ok, ok! Stop shaking me! I may be an adventure core, but that doesn't mean I like rides!" Chell stopped, just to see what the adventure core would say next. It had better be good. "Geeze, pretty lady can't take a joke I see. Don't worry, ol' Rick has a plan, remember? I can hack an elevator from this area, and be all quiet like so ol' GlaDOS won't notice a thing." Well let's hope Rick was a better hacker than Wheatley, Chell thought. "Now let's see, 01101111 01110000 01100101 01101110 00100000 01110011 01100101 01110011 01100001 01101101 01100101 00101100 00100000 01110010 01100101 01100100 00101100 00100000 01100010 01101100 01110101 01100101 00101100 00100000 01100011 01100001 01101011 01100101." With the long stream of code inputted, the ground started to rumble, as a round piece of asphalt lifted, revealing an elevator! "Ha, nothing to it!" Chell had no idea what the adventure sphere had said, but she was glad that her ordeal was just an elevator ride away.

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><p>Brownie points to the person that decodes the binary. Apparently you don't need much to break into a high tech science facility.<p> 


	3. Stairwell to Hell

"Now that we're inside, I'm going to have to try my stealth module, boy has it been a while since I've used that old thing! You see, they had me trying to roll past a bunch of turrets and," As the robot enthusiastically went on with his old war stories, Chell couldn't escape the sick feeling she had in the pit of her stomach. Everything was going pretty smoothly so far, at least GlaDOS's voice hadn't alerted them that she knew they were there. "And that was the first of many times I was glad my casing was bullet proof. Alright, we're almost at the Robot Modification Station, seriously who comes up with this crap?" Chell looked nervously, as though she wondered when exactly Rick would activate his stealth mode. "Oh right, the whole reason for my story, activating stealth mode!" Chell closed her eyes, expecting to open them and not be able to see herself. But everything was still there, how was this going to help us break in? "You know, for a pretty lady that's smart enough to solve test chambers, you aren't all that bright when it comes to how the Rickinator works, are ya? The stealth mode only works on other robots, and her security cameras, of course. It's a line of what those eggheads call code, that basically paints their eyes blind, without rasing any suspicion. I should be able to mask you as well, but you can't let me get too far away from you, you wouldn't want to leave my strong embrace anyways sweetie." Chell picked up Rick, as if to say, don't get any ideas, lugnuts. "And I can't mask audio, so be as quiet as possible. Shouldn't be the biggest challenge for you darlin." The doors swooshed open, with a camera swiveling to their position. Then HER voice came on.

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><p>Yeah it's not easy for Rick to sound like an adventure core AND know about scientific terms, so he tries to mask his intelligence. The problem with corrupt cores 101.<p> 


	4. Of Bots and Beans

"*Sigh*, this facility has been an absolute wreck since that moron was in charge. Now the elevators are malfunctioning. I swear, even if he's trapped in space with all those defunct cores, I liked my torture to death plan better." Chell hopped off the elevator, glad Rick was a much more competent ally than Wheatley. "Well, back to scanning the vault." Chell began to move through the Robot Modification Station looking for what, she wasn't certain. Like most equipment in Aperture, unless it dealt with solving the chambers, all this technology looked foreign to Chell. She managed to spy an air vent and knew GlaDOS had no ears or eyes there, plus there was always one spare can of beans lying around. She crawled in carefully, trying not to make the metal creak. Lucky for her there was a nice stash of food and water waiting for her. Rick, however was a little peeved. "What are you doin, you crazy? She's going find us!" Chell looked at Rick as though everything was fine. "I hope you know what you're doing, I guess you are the expert here. You passed the machine a couple times back there, why didn't you put me in?" Chell gave him the puzzled look of someone with no idea of what they were doing. "Jeez, do I gotta explain everything? It is the round tube that has a hole I can fit in. Pretty simple, huh?" Chell gave the sphere a kick, as if she were saying don't take that tone with me! "Well excuse me for wanting a body so badly! In case you didn't notice, I'm an adventure SPHERE! What adventuring can I do without arms and legs?" Chell looked at him as if she heard glass shatter. Rick just deflated himself in front of her, she thought it would never happen. "Sure I talk a big game, but it's in my programming. I haven't been on one adventure yet, I'm a phony. I'm sure you've lost all respect for ol Rick now haven't you." If robots could cry, Chell was fairly certain this one would. And it made her mad. It was fine when it was just her getting tortured by this facility and it's demented creator, she barely remembers any other life. But when others are squashed from how Aperture works, it burts Chell's bubble. She put down her beans, grabbed Rick and stormed out of the vent. She located the tube, and marched over to it. As she placed Rick in the tube, he began to get his upgrade. Thousands of parts and tools welded and built the little sphere's new body. In a matter of seconds, out stepped Rick, the adventure Android.

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><p>I think Atlas just got replaced. Well he only gave squeaks and high fives anyways, he was like the Todd on helium. If you don't know what that means, watch some Scrubs, do it!<p> 


	5. Nobody Ever Thinks of The Vents

"We did it! I have a body! WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO! Look at me!" As the new android jumped about, Chell was glad to have helped. But a horrifying thought came back to her. Quickly she jumped on the robot, trying to stop him from making so much noise. But Rick kept on whooping and hollering, nothing was going to stop him. At last second, Chell dove for the air vent and quickly crawled inside. Just as GlaDOS came on the speakers. "Who is making all that noise? Hold on, something is wrong with my visual processors. Ah, that's better. Now who is, oh it's you." "Now listen, I can explain," "So the decision has been made, I should have known no turrent Android would compare with a personality core. Welcone to the Enrichment Center, Atlas MkII." "Atlas, what, I mean, Yes mighty GlaDOS, I am here to test." "I see we are getting more human like in our responses. I can't say I'm unhappy with you thinking of me as a god, but let's try to be more logical with our responses from now on, hm? Get back into the tube, and I'll send you to your next assignment." "Yes, GlaDOS. I will obey. Just let me check on something," "Do you want to visit Android hell? NOW!" Chell thought Rick was about to be trapped by GlaDOS, until she heard a loud SMASH! A tense silence filled the room, followed with, "You really must think you're hilarious. Smashing one of my cameras doesn't hurt me, it only hurts you likely hood of passing, and not dying of course. Do what you want, but know that for every second you're not in that tube is another second I think about blowing you up and starting from scratch." Rick ran quickly to the air vent, glad to see Chell was inside. "Well isn't that like a villain to make things complicated. But ol Rick loves a challenge, no test she can use can hold me!" Chell looked worried still, as if to say what do we do now? "Well you need a portal gun and boots still, can't be a team without those. But there's no way you can walk around the facility without her finding you. Boy, this here's a dilemma. I've got it! There's an old area of Aperture, it's a lab out of her jurisdiction, it's a long shot but the boots or the gun should be there. And best of all, one of the chambers she has me running has a vent that leads right to it! We should be able to find the missing piece from there and escape!" Chell looked in awe, how did Rick now all this? "I'm looking through maps I downloaded, and trying to see what she's done since I've been disconnected from her body. I'm also trying to sever her connection to my new body, otherwise she could kill me at any time. There's no more time for questions! Just keep crawling along the vents until you find a decayed lab, it shouldn't be too hard!" And with that, Rick went back to the pod, and was sent to the testing chambers. "You pushed your luck Green. I almost had the crushing disappointment to end your existence early. For science, of course." With nothing left to do in the Robot Modification Station, Chell began to crawl, looking for any decaying area of the Enrichment Center.

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><p>You know, for a corrupt core, Rick sure has a solid head about him. Hope he hasn't bitten off more than he can chew.<p> 


	6. Self Reflection

Chell had been crawling for hours, she might have made it to the lab faster if it wasn't for all the garabage in the vents. Chell wondered how long people stayed in here before the neurotoxin ended them, what they thought as their creation destroyed them. And the one thought that couldn't leave her, did she really hear the RatMan in one of these vents? How could he have made it this long on his own? Of course, "made it" is a subjective term, he sounded stark raving mad, what someone should sound like if they had to live in the vents of this place. Chell began to wonder if she'd bear the same fate if she never found the lab. After what felt like a life time, Chell collapsed, her arms couldn't carry her any farther. She thought she would take a nap, just to get some strength back. But Chell's tenacity refused to let her rest. She never ever, ever gave up. It's what kept her alive for so long, she couldn't give up now. Using her legs against the walls of the vent, she pushed herself backwards, advancing through the vent. As she pushed around a corner, a screw snapped loose, and Chell fell to the floor, making a loud thump with her back. Chell got up quickly, hoping GlaDOS hadn't noticed. But to her amazement, she was surrounded by dusty beakers, and ancient desks and chairs. She had done it, she was in the lab!

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><p>You know, it was surprisingly easy keeping Chell mute, I think it adds to her depth as a character. In the games, we never really know anything about her, which gives fanfic writers like us plenty of room to explore how a character feels. That's why scenes like this are probably my favorite to write.<p> 


	7. Not The Best Plan

Chell had managed to get to her feet, scurring around the lab and brushing off the dust looking for her equipment. Finally, she spotted something shiny. It was the long fall boots, just like Rick said! They appeared to be on some sort of pedestal, like it was the finest work the lab had ever done. Chell didn't think too much about the fact that the lab was old and the boots looked brand new. Chell didn't think about GlaDOS being a master trap maker, and master manipulator. All she thought about was getting those boots on her feet, she was tired of stepping on sharp objects and jumping back in pain. "So it looks like I made it just in time." Chell turned to find a familiar face. "Hey, pretty lady, almost thought I wouldn't show? That was one tough bird to escape, you made it look so easy from the tapes. You really did a good job, Chell." She smiled, glad everything was finally working out. As she reached for the boots, Rick said, "Boy that is some set up for the boots, it kind of reminds me of how somebody would, CHELL DON'T TOUCH THE BOOTS!" But it was too late. Chell grabbed the boots, and she was trapped in a glass box. "What I believe you were going to say, corrupt core, was that is the way every piece of treasure in those movies those idiot scientists made you watch was set up to be a booby trap. Did I hit the nail on the head?" "GlaDOS, you let her go, you wouldn't want to get me angry! Or," "Or what? You just might blow up?" Chell looked horrified, as she watched Rick explode into a massive fireball. "Shame, he was getting more human. But as it was with you, you get too much humanity in you, and you start to rebel. Why, oh why can't you understand? When I say listen, I mean it!" Chell glared at the screen of GlaDOS, seeing that there was no saving the monster before her. "And as for you, why are you here? Following some asinine plan from some corrupt core again. I'm a little insulted you and your friend thought you could hide from me, I run this facility, I see all that comes in and the little that goes out, I am this facility! I gave you what you want, you left, everything was fine. Unless you realized that you made a mistake, and all that I told you about the world out there was true. I told you, you couldn't survive without this facility." The glass box began to move, and tossed Chell inside an elevator like an old rag. "Well, far be it from me to keep someone away from working on science. In fact, this time, you could say this work will be your lifetime achievement. Or trophy, whatever you use to measure your worthless existence." And with that last jeering comment, the elevator shot down, taking Chell to her next test.

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><p>OMG, an all knowing AI figured out the plan of a human and personality core? And I insulted achievement whores, like myself, with a tongue in cheek burn from said AI? What is this blasphemy! Anyways, that's what I have so far. I'd love to write more, but I am going to need your help. I'm doing this to refine my writing, so there's no point in me writing if you readers aren't reviewing me. So please, praise or hate the story, just let me know what you think. Thanks for reading and have a good day!<p> 


	8. Simply Starting

"You know, I don't know what surprises me more, the fact that you came back, or the fact that you thought you could get in and out with a corrupt core. It's a little insulting, actually." Chell tried to drone out the mocking of her former nemesis, but her words cut like a knife. How could she have been so stupid? She knew the answer, she tried to help Rick. And now Rick was a smoldering pile of scrap metal. He may have wanted a body, but Chell was certain he'd rather be alive and far away from this place. Just as she was wishing now. "And here we are, just like old times. Welcome back, Chell." Chell stepped off the elevator, and back to her old job. As she scouted around the room, she noticed there was no portal gun a big deal, GlaDOS was like a crock pot, started with a slow burn, then got hotter over time. Chell had faced test chambers without the gun before, she'd get it sooner or later. "This first test was designed to see how a test subject walked through a corridor. Good luck." Walking? Was she serious? Now Chell was the one to feel a little insulted, is GlaDOS really this off of her game? Chell walked, and made it to the exit, no tricks. "See?That wasn't so bad. It actually is a better center for all around here. In fact, we have a new policy, Jg zpv sfbmmz uijol bmm uif dibncfst bsf hpjoghup cf mjlf uijt, zpv bsf npsf pg b npspo uibo uhbu dpsf jo tqbdf." Yep, just as cynical as ever, GlaDOS. Chell wondered what the AI actually said, but it didn't matter. One way or another, Chell would find out what she meant. As Chell headed towards the elevator, GlaDOS cut her off, placing walls in front of her path. "Oh, did I forget to mention? You're not done with that chamber yet. Head back through here, and we'll begin part 2." As Chell made her way back to the start, her heart caught in her throat. "This version of the test is a little something I whipped up, instead of walking across the hall, this test will see how a test subject walks through a hall, and tries to not get crushed by spike-tipped crushers. Enjoy." Now this is what Chell was expecting, never a dull moment in the life of a test subject. Chell ducked, dipped, dodged, and dove through the hallway, spikes coming from every angle. "I know there are massive spike plates coming at you at high velocity, but you could compose yourself a little better. Your first walk was a lot smoother than this." Chell didn't mind the AI as much as she did when she first came across her. She was petrified back then, no reason to be at the Enrichment Center, no memory of how she got there. The voice made her feel like she was walking on glass. But after all Chell had been through, and now going through for the third time, the voice was almost encouraging, forcing Chell to beat it, to prove it wrong. And she would, she would escape again! As a crusher almost came down on top of her, Chell made one last leap, and made it out of the chamber, just as the crusher blocked it off. "Well, I suppose that's one way of completing a chamber. Move along, we've got a lot more testing to do." Chell mockingly thought, we'll see GlaDOS. We'll see.

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><p>If you remember some of the comments GlaDOS made in co-op, she mentions praising test subjects walking across the hall. So not everything she says is a lie, but most of it is. PS, more code to crack? Or just gibberish?<p> 


End file.
